I have had numerous encounters with this cocky self assured bird, the latest (2006) being a solitary male not far from the Main Street of Greytown in the Wairarapa.
When I first went to the farm in the Waiotahi Valley in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the late 70s, there was a large covey of them there and I must confess to having shot a few of them as they make great eating, among the best of the game birds. However, I don't think I shot so many that it caused their virtual disappearance. The falcons may have had something to do with it as one day I found on a farm track a neat circle of quail feathers. But it probably had more to do with the huge flock of "wild" turkeys I encouraged, the competition perhaps proving to be too great. Who knows really, as their decline could also have been caused by rats or stoats of which all the quail are particularly susceptible, but I came to miss their loud three beat call with the emphasis on the second beat, often heard in the quiet of an evening.
There were also a lot of California quail in those days around at Ohiwa Spit, earning a good living in the vegetable gardens of the tolerant householders there, somehow managing to survive the predations of cats, perhaps less of a threat than stoats and rats.
According to Oliver, "the California quail was first imported into the Nelson district in 1865 and during the following ten years into the Auckland, Canterbury, Otago, Southland and Wellington districts. By 1890 it became so plentiful in the Nelson District that large numbers were frozen and exported to England".
The California quail's acclimatisation in New Zealand has been most successful and is common in open country especially hilly regions cleared of forest and in fern and tutu country.
Seeds and fruits form the greater part of its diet.
Greytown, Wairarapa, 2006.
